Rufus (Roger Squires) at his surprise party to mark his 80th birthday. He does not know about the NTSPP yet!
Author: Prolixic
NTSPP – 105 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 105
A Puzzle by eXternal
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After three crosswords published on the DIY COW site, eXternal makes a welcome debut in the NTSPP series. This was an excellent crossword and I hope that it will be the first of many from him. I have highlighted my favourite clues in blue.
NTSPP – 104 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 104 (Review)
A Puzzle by Radler
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Radler returns with a themed winter crossword that is very appropriate given the current weather sweeping across the country. The key to the crossword is solving 13d which introduces the theme word needed to unlock many of the remaining clues. Even with the theme word cracked, this is a tricky crossword with some complicated wordplay, strokes of genius and Radler’s usual libertarian cluing that reflects his love of some Guardian setters!!
NTSPP – 103 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 103
A Puzzle by Alchemi
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Bigging It Up
Welcome back to Alchemi with a fun filled feast of anagrams (15) and other clues. The review is a little brief as I am heading off for the Cruciverbalists’ Convention (aka drinking) at the Bridge House.
There is one major theme of compartives in the crossword and an large number of games too.
My favourite clue was 13a. Drop by and let us have your comments.
Happy Birthday
NTSPP – 102 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 102
An Alphabetical Jigsaw by Hieroglyph
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome back to Heiroglyph with a different kind of crossword. I have to admit that alphabetical jigsaws are not my cup of tea but I did enjoy this one. The clues were all relatively gentle and fitting them into the grid was not at all difficult.
NTSPP – 101 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 101
A Puzzle by Gazza
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A welcome back to Gazza with an enjoyable crossword with lots to amuse and entertain. It was maybe not a cheeky as some of his earlier ones and had more than its fair share of abbreviations and remove the final letter of a word clues. However, this did not detract from the fun of solving it and there were lots of penny drop moments. My favourite clues are highlighted in blue.
NTSPP – 099 (Review)
Not the Saturday Prize Puzzle – 099 (Review)
A Puzzle by Boaz
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Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Boaz returns with an excellent and cheeky little number. Favourite clues are shown below highlighted in blue.
DT 26746
Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26746
Hints and tips by Prolixic
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Good morning all. Gazza is having a lie-in today and offered me the opportunity to blog one of the weekday puzzles. After a run of fairly gentle crosswords our setter today has given us a more meaty offering for us to get our teeth into. Fortunately, no turkey in this crossword just a lot of tricky wordplay for us to savour.
My favourite clues are shown highlighted in blue. Top of the Pops for me today was 26a.
NTSPP – 098 (Review)
NTSPP – 098 (Review)
A crossword by Radler
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Welcome back to Radler with a trickier crossword. The clues themselves are not too complicated (with some exceptions) but it is one of those crosswords with a theme that is not directly announced and has to be deduced from the answers to the non-themed clues (and a NINA in the grid). Once the theme is cracked, the rest of the crossword is relatively straightforward.